Stage Four Explained; Let Your Voice be Heard Tuesday

City leaders are preparing to get the information out next week on moving to the most severe drought restrictions ever.

It is unclear at this time if stage four will go into effect Tuesday when city leaders plan a town hall meeting.

But it is expected to be enacted within the week.

Not being able to water your lawn with city water may be the most noticeable changes coming in stage four, but we got the details on what some of the other rules mean.

The average family uses less than ten units of water a month but when four is triggered, the surcharge for going over that amount will triple.

But Operations Manager Daniel Nix says to be charged an extra three dollars per unit, you would have to really up your usage.

“Consumption is 748 gallons, a standard bath is 50 gallons, then you're going to have to take an extra 10- 5 baths, during that month to get an extra consumption on your bill,” says Nix.

For now the surcharge is the only extra charge the city sees going into effect because the stage three cost increase was not just for cost of water.

“It was also part of the bond to pay the bond back for the emergency reuse pipeline, so all of that rate increase doesn't go decreased revenue, the majority goes to paying for the bond,” says Nix.

And residents won't be the only ones cutting back. Contractors working on city project will be cut off from using city hydrants and businesses will have to present a water audit to the city, showing them how they plan to conserve.

“They look at their process, where's that water being used, is there a better way of doing it, that uses less water, is there a piece of equipment that can be used that uses less water,” says Nix.

When or if the time comes for stage four Nix says it will most likely start at the end of a watering cycle so residents get one last time to water their lawns.

Now if you are wondering what comes next?

Nix says the city is always working on plans in case we need to cut back more and go into stage five or six, but of course they hope with the amount of conservation we are already doing, stage five or six will never have to become a reality.

If you have questions or want to give your opinion, Tuesday is your chance.

Mayor Glenn Barham will be holding a town hall forum November 12th at 7:00 p.m.

It will take place at the MPEC in room 7 of the Ray Cymer Exhibit Hall.

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